Obituary Information

When possible, obituaries should be sent to the Herald from the funeral home. Information received will be placed in our standard obituary format.

We publish names of the deceased's spouse, parents, grandparents, siblings and children; we also include the number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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Obituaries - 01/03/02

Ella Mae Cook

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 1, at Dan Springs Baptist Church, of which she was a member. The Revs. Jim Cochran and Matt Shuler officiated. Burial was in Tabor Cemetery.

A native and lifelong resident of Swain County, she was a daughter of the late Robert G. and Lillie M. Edwards Arvey.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Lee Roy Cook, who died in 1998; and one sister, Cora Lee Postell.

Surviving are two daughters, Carolyn Shepherd of Hickory and Camella Gibson of Bryson City; one son, Maurice E. Cook of Bryson City; five sisters, Pearl Lakey, Floye Dehart, Shirley Douthit and Clara Neil Arvey, all of Bryson City, and Dora Carlton of Thomasville; three brothers, Wayne Arvey of Bryson City and Earl and Joe Arvey, both of Lexington; and four grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Lavelle Cooper

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29, in the chapel of Crisp Funeral Home, Bryson City. The Rev. Ray Fox officiated. Burial was in Bryson City Cemetery.

A native of Graham County, she lived in Swain County for more than 33 years. She worked in communications most of her life and was a member of Whittier Missionary Baptist Church. She was a daughter of Alma Wright Rose of Stecoah and the late John B. Rose.

In addition to her mother, she is survived by her husband of 33 years, Donald Cooper; three daughters, Tanya Cooper and Dean Sutton, both of Whittier, and Donna Searcy of Rutherfordton; two sons, Stephen Cooper of the home and Marvin Cooper of Whittier; four sisters, Lorene Smith of Greensboro, Blanche Bradshaw of Stecoah, Icie Strother of Wake Forest and Faye Crisp of Robbinsville; one brother, James Hill Rose of Monroe; and three grandchildren.

Furman Pannell

Funeral services were held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 30, in the chapel of Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Revs. Lloyd Fish and Eddie Stillwell officiated. Burial was in Addie Cemetery. Pallbearers were Earl Buchanan, Dail Johnson, Bobby Brooks, Lloyd Brooks, Cody Pannell and Phillip Pannell.

A native of Jackson County, he had lived in Boston for the last 40 years. He retired from the Norwood Public School System maintenance department and was a U.S. Army veteran. He was a son of the late Vernon and Jessie Johnson Pannell.

Surviving are one daughter, Shelia Pannell of Boston; two sons, Scottie and Lee Pannell of New Jersey; three sisters, Jackie Buchanan, Pauline Brooks and Mary Alice Pannell, all of Sylva; and two brothers, Buddy Pannell of Sylva and Kenneth Pannell of Robbinsville.

Franklin Minges

A memorial service was held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 30, at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. The Rev. George Simmons officiated. Following the service, a celebration of his life was held in the church fellowship hall.

A native of Nash County and a resident of Sylva for the past 10 years, he was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Rocky Mount. He was a son of the late Dr. Coyte Roscoe and Jean Lewis Minges.

Surviving are his wife, Michelle Hickman Minges; one brother, Dr. Clyde Minges of Rocky Mount; and two sisters, Carol Cox of Waldorf, Md., and Laura Minges of Blowing Rock.

Memorials may be made to the Lewis Rathburn Center, 121 Sherwood Road, Asheville, N.C. 28803.

Moody Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Harold Taylor

Born June 14, 1943, in Sedro-Woolley, he one of eight children of Lloyd and Winnifred Thresher Taylor. He was raised in the Sedro-Woolley area, where he attended school, graduating from Sedro-Woolley High School in 1961.

He served in the Vietnam War in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. He worked for many years in the construction industry as an ironworker building bridges in Alaska, Oregon, California and around the Northwest.

He was preceded in death by his father in 1961.

Surviving, in addition to his mother, are two daughters, Collette Schimke of Bow and Michelle Lofgren of Burlington; four brothers, Ron Taylor of Sedro-Woolley, Lloyd Taylor of Everett, Richard Taylor of Anacortes and Jim Taylor of Rockport; four sisters, Mildred Taylor of Kennewick, Julia Kiefer of Sedro-Woolley, Jean Wilson of Falls Lake, Wash., and Joan Furman of Tonopah, Nev.; and four grandchildren.

Arch Miller

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 28, at Yellow Hill Baptist Church, of which he was a member. The Rev. Red Bradley and Ray Kinsland officiated. Burial was at Yellow Hill Cemetery.

A native of Jay, Okla., he has been a resident of Cherokee for the past 60 years. He was the son of the late Joseph and Nan Sanders Miller. He was a veteran of World War II, serving with the U.S. Navy. He retired from the Cherokee Indian Hospital.

He was preceded in death by one son, Paul Miller; and four sisters.

Surviving are his wife of 61 years, Cecelia Miller; one son, Larry Miller of Cherokee; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Bill Moody Funeral Home, Bryson City, was in charge of arrangements.

Alvin Swayney

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 22, at Straight Fork Baptist Church. The Revs. James "Bo" Parris and Dan Lambert officiated. Burial was at Seay Family Cemetery.

A native and lifelong resident of Cherokee, he was a member of Rock Springs Baptist Church. He was retired from the U.S. Postal Service and was a general contractor. He was the husband of the late Flora Seay and son of the late John Wesley and Nettie Williamson Swayney.

Surviving are three sons, Ben Swayney of Sylva and Robert Swayney and Charles Jumper, both of Cherokee; two brothers, John Wesley Swayney and Gene Swayney, both of Cherokee; four sisters, Laura J. Lambert and Winona L. Seay, both of Cherokee, and Ellen M. McCall and Beulah E. Walker, both of Kramerton; one stepson, Douglas Toineeta of Cherokee; one stepsister, Irene Crow Beck of Cherokee; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Bill Moody Funeral Home, Bryson City, was in charge of arrangements.

Jessica Creech

Memorial services were held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2, at First Baptist Church of Hartsville, S.C. Dr. Robert Cline officiated.

Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, at Keener Cemetery with the Rev. Dr. John Bunn officiating.

Born in Sylva, she was the daughter of Roy C. McClure and the late Irene McClure and Jesse Buchanan. She was an active member of First Baptist Church of Hartsville, where she sang in the choir, played handbells, taught Bible school and was a member of the Josephine Erwin Circle. For more than 10 years she made wreaths to raise money for the First Baptist Church Missions Bazaar.

She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, where she had served as an officer and past Worthy Matron and was currently serving an active role.

She received her bachelor of science degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her master's degree from Kansas State University. She took additional coursework and workshops at Clemson University, Francis Marion University and several branch campuses of the University of South Carolina, the University of Georgia, Western Carolina University and UNC-Asheville.

She taught in Canton, Clayton, Ga., and 26 years in Darlington County schools. She was currently teaching at Trinity Collegiate School. She sponsored, coordinated and judged science fairs at the schools where she taught. She served as a master teacher of biology at Clemson University and science department coordinator at Hartsville High School.

She served as a merit badge counselor for Boy and Girl Scouts and was involved in other Scouting activities. She was involved in a variety of projects and activities to stimulate interest of elementary school children in science and scientific projects.

Other school responsibilities included membership on key committees, such as the school climate team, which was responsible for the merger and integration of Butler and Hartsville High School faculties and students.

Her honors were numerous, including the USC Chapter of Sigma Xi Science Teacher of the Year in 1985, the Cryovac Division of the W.R. Grace and Co., the South Carolina Academy of Science 1986 Award for Excellence in Secondary School Science Teaching and first runner up or honorable mention for this award for the previous five years. She was also a 1986 North Carolina Distinguished Women Awards nominee.

Surviving are her stepfather, Roy C. McClure; her husband, Robert Young Creech III; two daughters, Kathryn Linder of Columbia, S.C., and Erin Creech of Tallahassee, Fla.; and two brothers, Samuel Buchanan of Sylva and Roy Bryson McClure of Covington, Ind.

The family will receive friends from 7-9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4, and for one hour prior to the service on Saturday at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home.

Memorials may be made to the Lottie Moon Christmas Bazaar, First Baptist Church of Hartsville, 104 E. Home Ave., Hartsville, S.C. 29550.

John Kitchens

A mass will be held at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Sylva at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 5.

Moody Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Merry Cole

Moody Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. An on-line memorial and guest registry is available at www.pemoody.com. com.

Cecil Royall

Graveside services were held at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28, at Forest Hill Memorial Park in Lexington.

Penland & Sons Funeral Home and Crematory, Swannanoa, is in charge of arrangements.

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